Coffee Break
by elephanthi
Summary: As they sat in that booth, they made a promise full of hope and warm hands and coffee breath. ONE-SHOT. COMPLETE. Execute/ DickBabs


**AN:** This is a quick one-shot that's completely un-Beta'ed so I'm sorry._  
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_Disclaimer_: I don't own Young Justice.

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To wish for future outcomes to end up better wouldn't actually solve any true problem. Fact is, they were in pretty deep shit. And they knew how far they've dug that hole. It started out small and unexpected. But then, the Light got away with Tula and Jason's death.

The crevice turned into a pit.

And before anyone knew it, they were all broken. Each member tried in vain to piece back their lives, finding a common ground between insanity and ordinary. The superhero gig is a lie to start off with. If any of them were expecting any less from this, than we could say that they were pretty desperate. From the start, they all knew they had a price to pay to be Earth's heroes.

However, some of them had to sacrifice more than others.

Society isn't fair; it's been corrupted before any hero existed. There were always black markets of iniquity and the filthy greedy bastards who ran them. They've only come to term with their true image in the past decades and they've been carelessly showing off of their prouesse and skills. Maybe the world does accept and understand its citizens better, but it's no less horrible.

To be honest, he thought the world was crumbling around him.

Despite the circumstances, he did care about Todd. He may have replaced him in more ways than he should be jealous of, but that's the price of his independence So he turns the other cheek and honestly, it doesn't do him any good, because Jason actually died after. Regardless of his past actions, he felt responsible because from where he's standing, everyone he loves died in front of his eyes.

He's just so tired, and frustrated, and _young_.

"I'm just gonna finish this report, "he tells his teammates as they went into their respective rooms for much needed rest. It's been a few months since his little brother was murdered in cold blood, he still can't forgive himself.

So he started picking up some habits Bruce himself harbors long nights with little to no sleep, minimum interactions the Team, small amount of food. He became a shadow of the man he used to be rather than the joyous songbird his street name refereed to.

Every sharp corner faded out.

The colors turned grayer everyday.

Slowly, he found himself in the perfect in between.

And he was so absolutely numb, it was completely ridiculous.

The others did notice, in fact they wanted to help. But what could you do? What could you say to the Team Leader? That he's lost his touch? That he doesn't seem 'whelmed'? That he seemed 'distraught'? Hell they even wondered if they could say he was 'moded'. The new recruits cared. The original team cared. The new Robin cared. And to be quite frank, everyone was pretty sure that even Batman, who's suffering were worse, seemed more concerned over his first child than himself. If that didn't scream anything, than what will?

Among the Team members, few could measure to the relationship between Nightwing and Batgirl. Give or take, they are Bats from the same clan. Secret identity or not, Barbara knew that Richard was hiding something from her; she was smart and cunning and resourcefulness She was able to piece everything together before even wearing the insignia. So to say that he looked piqued was an understatement. She knew how close he was to his breaking point and she wasn't gonna let it happen under her watch.

So one Friday night, when most of the recruits were watching a movie in the living room or out for the weekend, she came to see him in the briefing room. His fingers tapped on the screen, moving different windows gracefully to his ease. His posture was slack, laid back. He appeared exhausted and quite frankly, that made her more than worried. When was the last time he actually had a good night rest? When was the last time he wasn't running away from nightmares? When was the last time he actually, truthfully said he was fine?

"Hey Nightwing," she called out softly. His shoulders suddenly became tense and his body language screamed surprised. Did he not hear her coming in?

"Do you mind if we talk, she paused and swallowed thickly, like honestly talk, no lies, no costumes?"

There was a pregnant silence.

"Babs, I need to finish this report, maybe another time. We could meet up next week or something, I'm really busy." His voice was cold and frightfully unfriendly.

She kept up with his bullshit for all the months he's been alone in Blüdhaven, creating his persona. She endured the wrath of Jason Todd's short glory. She stomached every bad day Batman had with her. She tolerated Dick's first months grieving but she will absolutely not withstand it any longer.

If it wasn't for her and Alfred (and newly added Tim), she's pretty sure the whole Bat clan would crumble under all the tension and deceit they've been throwing at each other. They've literally turned among themselves. The battlefield is ready but there is no war.

"Okay you might have misheard me Boy Wonder, you and I? We're gonna sit down and talk this out like the adults we are. You've been avoiding this long enough and I'm pretty sure it's starting to affect the Team. So if you still want to lead this band of sidekicks, I suggest you to leave whatever you're doing and go get a coffee with me." She said in a breath.

His arms started to tense more than earlier. His posture became rigid. And she held her breath and waited. A minute or two passed before he started moving again. His hands slowly flew down to the keyboard and began typing rapidly. "I'm gonna repeat myself Batgirl, he said in disdain, I'm busy."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at the little tremor in his voice. "That's it, I can't take it anymore."

And as if a curse was being lifted, both heroes knew exactly what to do. Their bodies moved in sync like they've practiced this more times than they could've remembered, blocking whatever attack the other had in store. To her dismay, his punches were weak, his kicks were pathetic and that was the drop of water that made the vase overflow. She crouched down, kicking the back of his knees and elbowed his shoulder blade. She landed on him, sitting on his waist. "I win."

And she hears him laugh, not his signature cackle, not his usual deep chuckle, but a desperate cry for help. "C'mon Bat Boy, we have a long night ahead of us. Drinks are on me."

She helped him get up, watched him close the tabs and waited for him outside his room so he could change out of his costume. She dragged him down the long stretch of halls and in the living room to bid goodbye to the Team, putting Conner in charge for the rest of the evening.

Once they've made it to Bibbo's diner, they sat down in a booth at the far end, away from prying ears. While waiting for their drinks, a comfortable silence settled between them. Neither started talking, not even after they've received their refreshments The "Jason" subject was probably way too delicate to bring up so crudely. To be fair, Barbara was pretty sure this wasn't the only reason he edged delirium daily. She was smart enough not to bring that up, yet.

"So how's your coffee?" She started, bringing her own cup up for a sip. It was a little to hot, burning her mouth and making her tongue recoil in pain.

He studied her expression, hands holding the mug tightly. She looked tired and anxious. Was he causing this much pain? "It's fine." He dropped his gaze at the clouds of smoke coming from his beverage.

And they stayed like that for a while; both afraid of hurting the other by their words; both holding onto their drink a little too tightly; both avoiding the other's stare. The tension became higher in every passing second. The warm and welcoming atmosphere started to be more and more suffocating than anything. They were both cornered. "Dick, this needs to stop."

She finally dropped the bomb.

She paused for a moment, trying to find her words. "I mean, do you even know how- when was the last time you sleep?" She asked a little too harshly.

She dared to look into his eyes. (She might have regretted that too.) Without his shades, his face was out in the open, eyes heavy and bloodshot, brows creased together, skin ghostly pale. He looked bad in his costume, but he looked worse now. "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate. Is this just about Jason? Because I completely understand that you aren't ready to talk about this and I won't push, but seriously _Richard_, if you need a day off, just say so. This is clearly eating you up and everyone's worried..."

She dropped her gaze back to her cup, waiting for a sigh, a word, a reaction at least! But nothing came out of him, but she keeps waiting patiently. Tension filled the air as both waited diligently for the other to react. Sliding her hands over her face, Barbara rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and passed them through her hair. As she scratched the base of her neck uncomfortably she peeked up to his face for a second, hoping he'll open his mouth soon.

"I'm worried." She whispered softly, just loud enough for him to hear.

A flicker of emotion seized his face briefly before looking back at his coffee. "I know how you tell yourself that you're at fault for many things, but honestly? We're all here to take the blame with you."

She waited again for a sign to continue, clearly he wasn't gonna talk. His finger traced the edge of his cup ever so lightly, dancing on the engraving of the shop. "Don't beat yourself up carelessly like this. If you aren't at your best right now, than the Team's performance won't be sky high either. They don't know how to help you Dick, but they hope for the best. And hell I don't want to pull a nerve but I'm sick of this tug of war going on between you and Bruce and yourself."

His hands gripped the handle tighter; maybe she was getting somewhere with this prep talk. "I've been avoiding the issue because I thought things were gonna handle themselves like they usually do, but clearly I was wrong."

He turned his head to the side, looking out to the window. His expression was strained but unreadable. "Tula's death isn't your fault Wally and Artemis quitting wasn't because of you. Kaldur siding with Black Manta isn't because of whatever you think you did. Bruce didn't replace you. And Jason, no one blames you for him... I mean Dick he's just-"

"Don't," was the first thing he said. The tone he used scared her. She knew that she stepped over and that this was getting a tad to personal but knowing him, she had to,

"Dick, I've been tiptoeing around the elephant in the room for far too long now, you need to talk to someone. I don't care who or when. Dinah's always open and honestly I don't know what to do anymore! I'm not gonna give up on you but you're making this a lot harder than it should be." She added a little annoyed.

She down the remains of her cup in a gulp and waited for him to speak. She made more effort in this conversation than he ever did! After a moment of satisfying silence, she turned her head to look out the window too.

She can't put words into his mouth. She can't make him speak. She's just a friend. She's just a shoulder to cry on. And it's sad to admit but he's giving the impression he can't be honest with her. She understands and she's smart enough to not question any of this. If he doesn't want to talk to her about it, then fine he's digging up his own grave.

The staccato beat of the radio and the light chit-chat in the diner made them feel less lonely. After a while of contemplating the situation, Barbara's about done with this pity case. Dick isn't this petty and if he is, she won't help anymore than she already didn't tonight.

"You know what, I'm just gonna drop this. We've been sitting here for more than an hour and this is going nowhere. I'm trying very hard to be patient Dick but I'm about done here. I won that round and you know that the loser always answer to whatever the other wants. I wanted some answer and I wanted you to pull you out of this pit you've made for yourself but I don't even know if my words have reached you." She said hastily and somewhat angrily.

He continued sitting there, gazing at the empty street, unfazed.

"I'm sorry Dick, but I'm calling this a night."

"It's more complicated than you think." He offers quickly, not moving an inch, eyes lost in oblivion.

She stayed quiet, ceasing all movement she had in mind. Maybe she did hit a few nerves. "I can't tell you the details but know that I'm aware of my surroundings. I thought I was more 'whelmed' than I was but guess I was wrong."

He pushed back some locks of hair and scratched the place between his eyebrows. "Like I told you, it's really complicated. It's bigger than I thought and I can't control the consequences. I'm working really hard on the task in hand and it's just so, so..."

"Complicated?" she offers absent-minded.

He smiles a little, "Yeah."

People were leaving all around them, making the place more and more deserted. They sat there in silence once more, contemplating this new found balance. "And since I have to be honest here, I have to tell you that I'm beating myself up for being a jerk in the past few months to Bruce, to Jason, to Alfred and to you, as for this case I'm working on." He said carefully but truthfully.

She waited a while before talking, hoping he had more to say.

"I can't tell you more about this mission, it's far too dangerous and I can't lose you too. Not after my parents, not after Jason, not after losing touch with Wally, I can't and won't let you slip away. You're important to be Babs, always have and always will." He looked in her eyes all the time he confessed.

"I'm just in a rough patch right now and there's a lot to deal with so of course things aren't looking super swell. But I promise you, whatever's happening outside the Team will not affect its performance. I'm gonna let them down." He said with bright eyes.

This was the _Richard_ she knew.

"Well, that's good to hear, she licked her lips to moisten them and think of her words, I'm glad that you're feeling fine after all."

"Yeah, thanks Babs, for looking out for me." He grabbed her right hand and held it tightly as if they were making a promise.

"Any day _Hunk Wonder_, now if you don't mind, I think you have a bed waiting for you. Quite desperately if I recall correctly she's wondering where you are." She teased sleepily, tracing small patterns on his hands.

"I should probably call this a night, huh?" he asked out lazily, lingering his fingers into her free hand, intertwining them. They stayed there for a while, grasping on each other's hands. "This is nice."

"Don't get your pants in a twist now, I'm tired too." She smiled contently.

He brought their hands up gently and kissed her fingers. "I'm sorry I made you worry, this won't happen again." He breathed.

"Humm, I hope so too, she looked happily into his eyes, let's get out of here."

And so they left, hand in hand, all regret and remorse left behind. The air was chilly outside but each other's company was enough to warm up their souls. It was an unsaid promise, but they won't make each other worry any time soon.

It's a promise full of hope and warm hands and coffee breath.

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**AN:** When studying doesn't work, writing does? Haha I really needed to post something up here. I was in the mood for some _Execute _I don't know. I really need to get to work. Regardless, I thank whoever read this and hopefully get some feedback?

**_Menthe Fresh sign out._**


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